In diagnosing and treating certain medical conditions, such as potentially cancerous tumors, it is usually desirable to perform a biopsy, in which a specimen of the suspicious tissue is removed for pathological examination and analysis. In many instances, the suspicious tissue is located in a subcutaneous site, such as inside a human breast. To minimize surgical intrusion into the patient's body, it is desirable to be able to insert a small instrument into the patient's body to access the targeted site and to separate the biopsy specimen therefrom.
Tissue cutting members currently used with biopsy devices have a variety of problems. Often tissue becomes trapped between the cutting member and the shaft within which the cutting member is disposed. Also many cutting members currently available in the art are not suitable for effectively separating tough or hard tissue from the target site in a patient's body.
There is need in the art for cutting members with improved efficiency for separating tissue specimens from a target location in a patient's body.